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Red Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) within the
Lower Red Lake unorganized territory located in Beltrami County,
Minnesota. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a
total area of 13.4 mi˛ (34.7 km˛), of which 13.0 mi˛ (33.6 km˛) is land
and 0.4 mi˛ (1.1 km˛), 3.06%, is water. The elevation is 1,211 ft
(369 m) above sea level.

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,430 people, 400
households, and 320 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 110.2/mi˛ (42.5/km˛). There were 421 housing units at an average
density of 32.4˛ (12.5/km(). The racial makeup of the CDP was 1.82%
White, 0.28% Black or African American, 97.69% Native American, 0.07%
from other races, and 0.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino
of any race were 1.47% of the population.

There were 400 households out of which 49.0% had
children under the age of 18 living with them, 24.5% were married
couples living together, 42.0% had a female householder with no husband
present, and 20.0% were non-families. 18.3% of all households were made
up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of
age or older. The average household size was 3.53 and the average family
size was 3.88.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 44.1%
under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 15.6%
from 45 to 64, and 4.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median
age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every
100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.

The median income for a household was $23,224, and the
median income for a family was $20,800. Males had a median income of
$22,257 versus $22,431 for females. The per capita income for the CDP
was $8,787. About 36.8% of families and 36.4% of the population were
below the poverty line, including 42.8% of those under the age of 18 and
44.4% of those 65 and older.

John G. Morrison, Jr. knew the Ojibwe people well.
Residing on reservations for all but a few months of his life, he became
an expert on both the government and the people influencing Indian life
in northern Minnesota. John attended boarding school on the White Earth
Reservation as a young man, and continued his education at the Carlisle
Indian School in Pennsylvania in 1892. A few months later he returned to
Minnesota, working in the Beaulieu, Ponsford, and Red Lake areas.

In 1896, he accepted a job with the U.S. Government's
Indian Service, and for the next few years taught in federal reservation
schools from Wisconsin to Washington. On October 1, 1900, he was
transferred to Cross Lake on the northern shore of lower Red Lake, to
start a school with his wife, Edith MacArthur Morrison. He also served
as postmaster in the community of Ponemah.

In 1907, John left teaching to operate his father's
general store in Red Lake and to become the Red Lake postmaster, Twelve
years later he again changed careers, returning to White Earth to serve
as a field man for the U.S. Government in managing Indian affairs. He
continued working for his people in various federal capacities until
1940, when he retired with his wife to Redby.

The view of early Red Lake looking west. Morrison
and Gravelle's Chippewa Trading Store is on the right on the
road north to the pow-wow grounds. The bridge is over Mill
Creek, named after an early sawmill. The Morrison Hotel is seen
north and slightly east of the Chippewa Store. Photo Courtesy of
North Central Minnesota Historical Center

John C. Morrison, Jr. Remembers...

As I remember Red Lake in 1888 it was a sprawling,
long, narrow village along the lake, much as it is today. William R.
Spears had a store there, which he had started in 1879 according to a
sign on the front of it. He had started in his trading activities
following the Indians around with a wagon when they were digging senaca
root. He was a single man and spent his winters in a shack in Red Lake.
When I first met him, he was right near Warren's stopping place where
the Indians were digging the root. So many Indians were at work that he
had root stored in a tent which he called "Snake Root City." Spear's
original store was made of two logs long with staggered joints. It was
about 400 feet from the Main street, just north on the road that runs
down to the pow-wow grounds. Old Chief Moosedung had a little store
downhill from Spears, on a side hill. The old American Fur Company store
was right on the brown of the hill and Spears was in back of it.

It seems to me that Allan Jourdain had a little stock
of goods in the American Fur Co. building. William Sayers, his
brother-in-law, was clerking for him. He also owned the mail route and
had the contract from White Earth to Red Lake, which he hired an Indian
carrier to handle by packing on his back. One of the carriers was
Nayzatkwigaowh, meaning man who stands alone. When he gave it up,
Allan's brother, Peter Jourdain, carried the mail, generally with a
little pony team. The Red Lake Post Office, the first in Beltrami County
[established 1875], was at the Agency.

The Agency was in the same general location it is now
and was headed by an overseer, Mr. Reed. I think there were five or six
employees. There was no hospital there at that time but there was a
doctor, possibly Dr. Laird. A small green schoolhouse was operated by
the federal government. There was just one teacher who was called
superintendent. The Agency blacksmith, carpenter, teamster, doctor and
school employees probably brought the total number to ten people working
for the government. There were, in addition, seven policemen. I believe
they rotated a day apiece with a man always on duty.

There were no roads to speak of —just trails and
mudholes.

The Indians in Red Lake raised a lot of vegetables at
that time: corn, squash and potatoes. In the trader's store we used to
buy corn. Seneca roots in the summertime and fur in the wintertime were
used by the Indians for barter.

In 1888 the Catholics had a mission at the site of the
cemetery which Father Aloysius visited from time to time, and late that
fall Father Thomas Borgerding and some sisters arrived in Red Lake to
maintain the mission on a full-time basis and start a school.

When I came back to Red Lake to work in 1893 things
were picking up There were two main stores. I clerked for William Spears
about two years. At that time Red Lake was the only town in Beltrami
County area when you could buy a reasonable supply of groceries and
other necessities of life. The county had not been organized and Red
Lake was the only town in the county at that time. In 1893 it was
largely a jumping-off place for homesteaders, steamboats and other
settlers moving in. The lands settled on were largely those which had
been ceded by the Indians of the Red Lake Reservation.

One of the last official Red Lake Indian delegations to
Washington, D.C., in 1909 to discuss treaties. Shown above left
to right are (front row) George Highlanding, Everwind, John
English, Chief Nodin of Ponemah; back row, left to right, Joe
Mason, P.H. Beauleau, Kingbird. Basil Lawrence, Attorney John
Gibbons of Bemidji, Alex Jourdain, Babeegeshig, Ehmeewequanobe.
Photo Courtesy of Beltrami County Historical Society

John B. Fairbanks had a little store in
Red Lake and Tom Gurneau ran a little stopping place, a little log
building with garret rooms for people who were forced to stay there
overnight.

Steamboats had been running on Red Lake
for probably two or three years when I came up here in 1893 to work.
Captain Pete Eberhardt had a boat on Red Lake which he called The
Viking. He made regular trips, depending upon the wind. If the wind was
blowing from the west, the water was too low and he couldn't get into
the lake. It was too shallow at the bar. This boat was probably 60-70
feet long. There was enough water in the Red Lake River to float it all
the way down to Thief River Falls. Later on, another boat came on the
lake. It was run by Herman Cook. Then the Alice Meehan came on, a
passenger boat. Olaf Hanson ran a boat that wouldn't go out on the lake
but followed along the shore. He called it the Christina. And then there
were quite a few towboats: the Martin Lally, the Michael Kelly, the Old
Mudhen and the Jim Meehan. The Margarite, Chippewa, Beltrami and J.P.
Kinney came on later. The lake was quite a highway. Quite a few boats
towed logs across every day.

About 1893 and 1894 they were doing
extensive logging up here. Bill Lennon came. C.A. Smith had a lot of
holdings here and the walking boss was Fred Kribs — Fred and Al Kribs.
The timber estimator was Jimmie Mullen. There was quite a bit of work
being done on the lake. In the wintertime freighters from Terrebonne and
Brooks and where Oklee is now hauled their beef and pork and eggs to us
for the camps.

Red Lake was becoming busy with trading
and supplying camps in the winter and driving and towing in the summer.
Times were improving.

The tribal government has full sovereignty over the reservation, subject
only to the federal government. Red Lake, because of its unique status
is often referred to as a "closed" reservation. Because the land is held
in common, few non-members live at Red Lake. The Tribe has the right to
limit who can visit or live on the reservation. The Red Lake Nation is
exempt from Public Law 280; consequently the state courts or government
has no jurisdiction at Red Lake. Laws are made by the Tribal Council and
enforced by the Tribal Council and Federal Courts.

In 1918 the Red Lake General Council Constitution was established. In
1958 a revised Constitution and By-laws was adopted by the members of
Red Lake Nation, followed by the first secret ballot election of Tribal
Government in 1959.

An eleven member Tribal Council, three officers elected at large and
eight council members, two from each of the four communities, governs
the Red Lake Band. Seven Hereditary Chiefs, descendents from those who
negotiated the 1889 Land Agreement, serve for life in an advisory
capacity to the Tribal Council. In 1997, the Tribe began administering
its own programs under a Self-Governance Contract with the BIA. Red Lake
is not a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT).

Located directly on the Red Lake Reservation and just 30 minutes
from Bemidji, our casino in Red Lake is a small, personal
atmosphere featuring just over 300 gaming machines including
video slots, video poker, and video keno. Our beautiful hotel
features 40 spacious rooms not far off the casino floor and
conveniently located next to the gift shop so winning and snacks
are just steps away. The Warriors Grill features breakfast,
lunch, and dinner options that are sure to keep your belly just
as full as your wallet! And if shouting when you win big wasn't
enough you can also come out and shout BINGO every Sunday!

The Red Lake IHS Hospital and Ponemah
Clinic has earned the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval™
for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with The Joint
Commission's national standards for health care quality and
safety in hospitals. The accreditation award recognizes Red Lake
IHS Indian Hospital’s dedication to continuous compliance with
The Joint Commission's state-of-the-art standards.

The Red Lake Nation College
(RLNC) is a public college that was chartered by the Red Lake
Band of Chippewa Indians in 2001 to provide higher education
opportunities for band members and non-band members in
surrounding communities.

Anishinabe Legal Services began as
the Leech Lake Reservation Legal Services Project in 1967. The
Leech Lake Reservation Legal Services Project was the first
independent Native American legal services program in the
country. Original funding for the program came from the United
States Office of Economic Opportunity.

The Red Lake Nation Boys & Girls Club
provides a safe environment for youth to go to during out of
school hours and beyond. We provide structured programs for
youth to engage in healthy activities and life choices.

The Red
Lake CAP/Weatherization Program provides assistance and
information to band members with regard to the winter
weatherization of their homes, as well as applications for
energy assistance. Energy assistance applications are mailed by
the Minnesota Department of Commerce in the fall of the year, or
can be obtained through the CAP office.

Native
Style Embroidery & Art was created to honor the heritage and
lifestyle of the Anishinabe people: allowing them to use their
talents and skills to create a pathway into financial
independence and personal pride.

Red Lake Builders, Inc is one
of very few tribally owned construction companies in the United
States. Red Lake Builders has over 35 years of experience
meeting the needs of Construction customers. Red Lake Builders
is an SBA HUBZone certified small business. Beyond providing
quality buildings and civil construction services, Red Lake
Builders has created jobs for a generation of Tribal and other
employees. Red Lake Builders’ employees have a strong commitment
to the company, and look forward to providing its
professionalism and expertise to every project.

The Red Lake Reservation is home
to 75 percent of the Tribe’s 10,000 Band members. The primary
sources of livelihood include hunting, fishing, and subsistence
natural resource harvesting. Natural resources historically
represented the most important source of employment to the Band
members, with commercial fishing and logging representing the
two most important industries. These two industries affect every
member on the Reservation. Therefore, preserving and restoring
its rich aquatic ecosystem and abundance of other natural
resources is critical to Band members’ health, welfare,
traditional ways of life, economic viability, and is a high
priority for the Band.

The Red Lake IHS Hospital and Ponemah
Clinic has earned the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval™
for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with The Joint
Commission's national standards for health care quality and
safety in hospitals. The accreditation award recognizes Red Lake
IHS Indian Hospital’s dedication to continuous compliance with
The Joint Commission's state-of-the-art standards.

We are the ONLY American Indian tribe
in the U.S. that grows & harvests our own wild rice (MN
Cultivated) on local lands. From our reservation in northern
Minnesota, we pack, label & ship our wild rice to many
countries. We expanded our natural foods line with unique hand
harvested wild fruit jellies, jams & syrups, handcrafted gift
items, all natural batter mixes, popcorn & herbal tea. We are
pleased to share the bounty of the harvests, as well as other
natural food products, all produced by American Indians. Red
Lake Nation Foods is a member of the Intertribal Agriculture
Council, and bear the “Made/Produced by American Indians”
trademark on our products.

Located directly on the Red Lake Reservation and just 30 minutes
from Bemidji, our casino in Red Lake is a small, personal
atmosphere featuring just over 300 gaming machines including
video slots, video poker, and video keno. Our beautiful hotel
features 40 spacious rooms not far off the casino floor and
conveniently located next to the gift shop so winning and snacks
are just steps away. The Warriors Grill features breakfast,
lunch, and dinner options that are sure to keep your belly just
as full as your wallet! And if shouting when you win big wasn't
enough you can also come out and shout BINGO every Sunday!